editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Frank Morris has supervised the reporters in KCUR's newsroom since 1999. In addition to his managerial duties, Morris files regularly with National Public Radio. He’s covered everything from tornadoes to tax law for the network, in stories spanning eight states. His work has won dozens of awards, including four national Public Radio News Directors awards (PRNDIs) and several regional Edward R. Murrow awards. In 2012 he was honored to be named "Journalist of the Year" by the Heart of America Press Club. Morris grew up in rural Kansas listening to KHCC, spun records at KJHK throughout college at the University of Kansas, and cut his teeth in journalism as an intern for Kansas Public Radio, in the Kansas statehouse.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Frank MorrisFri, 31 Mar 2017 02:21:18 +0000Frank Morrishttp://peoriapublicradio.org
Frank MorrisSome of President Trump's proposed spending cuts would cripple programs that benefit communities full of his rural supporters, but at least in Strong City, Kan., some say they are ready "to bleed a little bit." Strong City is a former railroad town of about 460 people, less than half the size it was in 1890. Trump's proposed budget aims at killing the program that threw a lifeline to the town's water system. Shari DeWitt, the city clerk, says a couple of years ago, even its water treatment plant was dying. DeWitt says the plant was built 40 years ago inside the town's abandoned high school, but the plant kept breaking down. "Water's very important and a lot of people don't realize it until they don't have it," she says. Strong City banded together with Cottonwood Falls, the town next door, to build a $6 million water treatment system. It serves only about 500 homes and businesses. The treatment plant is paid for, and it started operation about a year ago. More than $2.7 million inRural Trump Voters Embrace The Sacrifices That Come With Supporthttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/rural-trump-voters-embrace-sacrifices-come-support
72797 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgThu, 30 Mar 2017 09:47:00 +0000Rural Trump Voters Embrace The Sacrifices That Come With SupportFrank MorrisThis is a two-part story on immigrants and small town viability. Part one aired on this Weekend Edition Saturday . For the full story, listen to both audio segments. Like thousands of rural towns across the country, Cawker City, Kan., was built for bygone time. Resident Linda Clover has spent most of her life in Cawker City, and she loves the place, but it's a shell of the town it used to be. "When I moved here in the '60s we had three grocery stores," she says. "Now the number is zero." Cawker City has a common rural problem. When it formed, 140 years ago, the big families living on many small, nearby farms had no other place to shop — or shoot pool. Since then, farms have grown much bigger, the remaining families are smaller, and increasingly they're doing much of their shopping online. As career opportunities in town dry up, ambitious young adults tend to move away. "You have to find your little place in the world," Linda Clover says. "And we've kind of lost it, in our whole areaA Thriving Rural Town's Winning Formula Faces New Threats Under Trump Administrationhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/thriving-rural-towns-winning-formula-faces-new-threats-under-trump-administration
71205 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgSun, 19 Feb 2017 12:58:00 +0000A Thriving Rural Town's Winning Formula Faces New Threats Under Trump AdministrationFrank MorrisPresident Trump's threats to disrupt trade with Mexico aren't just worrying people south of the border. Each time Trump attacks the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA, the executives at a 130 year-old railroad company in Kansas City, Mo., hold their breath. Like a lot of U.S. companies, cross-border trade accounts for a lot of Kansas City Southern's business. As the trains depart, they head south to Mexico, carrying American corn, chemicals and car parts. When they come back, they're loaded with items such as refrigerators, finished cars and beer. This is the daily scene for Kansas City Southern trains as they continue the old-school, steel-in-the-ground, heavy industry that was built slowly over decades and centered largely around trade with Mexico. "They are the NAFTA railroad, so anything that's going to negatively affect potential trade with Mexico is going to be a negative for Kansas City Southern," says Jason Seidl, a railroad analyst with Cowen and Company.U.S. Companies Uncertain Of NAFTA Trading Under Trump Administrationhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/us-companies-uncertain-nafta-trading-under-trump-administration
70560 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgMon, 06 Feb 2017 10:11:00 +0000U.S. Companies Uncertain Of NAFTA Trading Under Trump AdministrationFrank MorrisNext week, white nationalists like Jared Taylor will celebrate a moment they've been waiting decades to see, when Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. Members of the white nationalist movement were among the first to embrace Trump's candidacy, and they celebrated after his election. "Jan. 20 reflects a significant defeat for egalitarian orthodoxy," Taylor says. Taylor promotes a very different orthodoxy, one in which race is central to innate abilities and national success. He is working to build a United States explicitly for white people. Trump arguably helps this by telling supporters that they're the victims of a system rigged against them. "I see Donald Trump as a kind of steppingstone. He is a step in the right direction in terms of understanding America and history and the world in essentially racial terms," Taylor says. But white nationalist enthusiasm for Trump has fallen off substantially. Since the election, the so-called alt-right hasWhite Nationalists' Enthusiasm For Trump Coolshttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/white-nationalists-enthusiasm-trump-cools
69606 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgFri, 13 Jan 2017 21:41:00 +0000White Nationalists' Enthusiasm For Trump CoolsFrank MorrisIt's no secret that Donald Trump campaigned as a champion of gun rights, but a Trump administration poses both welcome relief and an immediate problem for the gun industry. For Larry Cavener, who recently visited a new gun shop called Tactical Advantage in Overland Park, Kan., this election means he can breathe easier. "This means that we're not gonna be under siege for a few years, and it seems like it has been," Cavener says. But the Obama years have actually been awesome for the U.S. gun industry. It has roughly doubled in size, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation , an industry trade group. Tactical Advantage is part of an Obama-era gun industry success story. Brad Bissey, behind the counter, says Obama's executive order mandating background checks on more gun sales and proposals to limit military-style weapons have fueled gun sales. "You're causing people that wouldn't normally buy a gun to buy two or three. The owner here, Craig, he had sold three rifles to oneWith Trump Win, Gun Sellers See Win — And Losshttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/trump-win-gun-sellers-see-win-and-loss
67216 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgWed, 16 Nov 2016 09:48:00 +0000With Trump Win, Gun Sellers See Win — And LossFrank MorrisA drive 30 minutes north of Omaha, Neb., leads to the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant. It's full of new equipment. There's a white concrete box building that's still under construction. It's licensed until 2033. But the plant is closing Monday. Nuclear power is expensive, especially when compared to some of the alternatives, so the U.S. nuclear power industry is shrinking. As more plants go offline, industry leaders are forced to reckon with what critics call a "broken system" for taking plants out of service and storing radioactive waste. 'Trying to skid to a halt' Brock Lindau has spent most of his career at the Fort Calhoun power plant. He helped install almost $700 million worth of upgrades that got the plant through a flood and a fire, and helped get it licensed to operate until 2033. "I think we're going 100 mph, running perfect, and somehow they just took the wheels out from underneath us, and we're trying to skid to a halt," Lindau says. For all the work Lindau has put intoWaste, Families Left Behind As Nuclear Plants Closehttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/waste-families-left-behind-nuclear-plants-close
66191 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgMon, 24 Oct 2016 09:03:00 +0000Waste, Families Left Behind As Nuclear Plants CloseFrank MorrisLike most farmers, Mark Nelson, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat near Louisburg, Kan., is getting squeezed. He's paying three times more for seed than he used to, while his corn sells for less than half what it brought four years ago. "It's a – that's a challenge," Nelson says. "You're not going to be in the black, let's put it that way." Low commodity prices are rippling up and down the farm-economy food chain — from the farm to the boardroom — and it has many of the huge companies that control farm inputs looking to a new future. Most of the seeds and chemicals used to grow the world's crops come from just a handful of big companies, and the largest of those multinational companies — Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, and Syngenta — are trying to get even bigger. The prospect of fewer, larger companies controlling so much of the basic food supply is giving some farmers and antitrust advocates heartburn. With massive supplies of the world's most important crops, like corn and soybeans,Farmers, Antitrust Activists Are Worried That Big Ag Is Only Getting Biggerhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/farmers-antitrust-activists-are-worried-big-ag-only-getting-bigger
65949 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgTue, 18 Oct 2016 17:42:00 +0000Farmers, Antitrust Activists Are Worried That Big Ag Is Only Getting BiggerFrank MorrisEditor's note: This report contains accounts of rape, violence and other disturbing events. Sex trafficking wasn't a major concern in the early 1980s, when Beth Jacobs was a teenager. If you were a prostitute, the thinking went, it was your choice. Jacobs thought that too, right up until she came to, on the lot of a dark truck stop one night. She says she had asked a friendly-seeming man for a ride home that afternoon. Jacobs says he gave her something to drink in an old McDonald's cup, and drugged her. As she was waking up the man announced that he was a pimp. Her pimp. "I kind of laughed at him, and I said, 'Oh, that's great, but I'm not that kind of girl,' " Jacobs remembers. "And I tried to get out of the car, and he pulled me back in by my hair, beat me, and he said, 'No, b****, I didn't ask you. This is what it is. I own you now. You're going to sleep with this man in this truck, and he's going to give me the money to get to Chicago.' " She pleaded with the truck driver and criedTruckers Take The Wheel In Effort To Halt Sex Traffickinghttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/truckers-take-wheel-effort-halt-sex-trafficking
61582 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgWed, 13 Jul 2016 21:31:00 +0000Truckers Take The Wheel In Effort To Halt Sex TraffickingFrank MorrisThe battle over religious freedom and LGBT rights has moved from Arizona and Mississippi to Missouri. Conservatives there are backing an amendment to the state Constitution that would protect certain people — clergy, for instance — who refuse to take part in same-sex marriages. But the measure has run into some unexpected — and unexpectedly stiff — opposition, from a longtime ally of the religious right: the business community. Supporters of the proposal are pulling out all the stops. An enthusiastic crowd filled the rotunda of the Missouri Statehouse this week, pledging to fight back against what they see as an assault on long-held religious beliefs. Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director John Yeats says Senate Joint Resolution 39 simply shields a vocal constituency in Missouri from being forced, by the government, to take part in same-sex marriage, something they find morally wrong. "You would think that SJR 39 would be a common-sense no-brainer," he told the cheering crowd.Missouri's Proposed Religious Freedom Amendment Sets Old Allies At Oddshttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/missouris-proposed-religious-freedom-amendment-sets-old-allies-odds
57812 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgFri, 22 Apr 2016 20:33:00 +0000Missouri's Proposed Religious Freedom Amendment Sets Old Allies At OddsFrank MorrisResidents of Flint, Mich., may tell you lead is a serious menace, but for most of the last 5,000 years, people saw lead as a miracle metal at the forefront of technology. "You can think about lead as kind of the plastic of the ancient world," says Joseph Heppert, a professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas. He says it was because lead is easy to melt — a campfire alone can do it. Unlike iron, lead is malleable. "Once you form it into sheets you can do things that people had really never been able to do before with a metal," he says. "You can roll it into tubes, for example." It started with the Romans, who plumbed their famous baths with lead water pipes and lined aqueducts with lead. They called lead plumbum, which was where the word "plumbing" came from. Romans added lead into things ranging from makeup and contraception to cookware. Chris Warren, a professor of history at Brooklyn College, says Romans even sweetened their ­food with lead. "Sugar of lead, as they call it,Before It Was Dangerous, Lead Was The Miracle Metal That We Lovedhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/it-was-dangerous-lead-was-miracle-metal-we-loved
57045 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgWed, 06 Apr 2016 21:53:00 +0000Before It Was Dangerous, Lead Was The Miracle Metal That We LovedFrank MorrisNear record numbers of Americans are buying second homes — the kind on wheels, that is. The Great Recession almost totaled the RV industry, but now camper trailers and motor homes are popular again. Daryn Anderson is the owner of an RV dealership south of Kansas City, and he says his sales here have roughly tripled since the bottom of the recession. "Business has been great. Six straight record years and no end in sight," he says. "We're excited." But seven years ago, during the recession, RV sales tanked. When President Obama wanted to spotlight the worst of the economy then, he actually went to the RV capital of the world — Elkhart County, Ind. , where most American RVs are built. Kyle Hannon, president of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, says unemployment more than quadrupled as dozens of manufacturers went under during that period of time. "It was a tough time. A lot of companies were shut down. A lot of people have been laid off," he says. "Everybody knew somebody who was out ofReady For A Road Trip? RVs Are Rolling Back Into Fashionhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/ready-road-trip-rvs-are-rolling-back-fashion
56606 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgMon, 28 Mar 2016 08:57:00 +0000Ready For A Road Trip? RVs Are Rolling Back Into FashionFrank MorrisCopyright 2017 KCUR-FM. To see more, visit KCUR-FM . STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Let's hear what iPhone users think of the legal fight over access to their phones. Apple is resisting a court order to unlock the phone used by one of the San Bernardino shooting suspects. The FBI says it wants access to just that one phone. The company says that's the same as opening them all, including the phones of people who spoke with Frank Morris of our member station KCUR. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Eight, nine, 10 and 10 makes 20. Enjoy your show. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Thank you, ma'am. FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: At the annual RV show in Topeka, Kan., retirees and younger families are strolling past rows of camper trailers to the sound of country music radio under American flags. Mike Glasgow says he doesn't think the government should be able to force Apple to help it defeat the iPhone's security. MIKE GLASGOW: I mean, they can't run the post office or health care or anything else, so I surely don't want their hands onAmericans' Opinions Are Divided Over Whether Apple Should Unlock Shooter's Phonehttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/americans-opinions-are-divided-over-whether-apple-should-unlock-shooters-phone
54947 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgMon, 22 Feb 2016 10:17:00 +0000Americans' Opinions Are Divided Over Whether Apple Should Unlock Shooter's PhoneFrank MorrisA mosque, a church and a synagogue go up on the site of an old Jewish country club ... It sounds like the setup to a joke — but it's not. It's actually happening in Omaha, Neb. The Tri-Faith Initiative may be the first place in history where these three monotheistic faiths have built together, on purpose, with the intention of working together. The project has inspired some, and antagonized others. In a tony suburban section of Omaha, kids at Countryside United Church of Christ are singing Away in a Manger . They're getting ready for the upcoming Christmas program. Upstairs, in the church's expansive, modern coffee shop, the Rev. Eric Elnes says this is going to be one of the congregation's last Christmases at this location. "We love our building. There is literally no good reason to move whatsoever, except to follow this Tri-Faith Initiative, which has really, absolutely moved our hearts," Elnes says. But the congregation will move — to a hilly, 38-acre plot bisected by a creek nearIn America's Heartland, Building One Home For Three Faithshttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/americas-heartland-building-one-home-three-faiths
52011 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgThu, 17 Dec 2015 22:02:00 +0000In America's Heartland, Building One Home For Three FaithsFrank MorrisAlmost all of the goods we buy spend time in a truck before they get to us. And because store shelves are full and sales are strong, you might assume that the trucking industry is doing great. But trucking companies say they are critically short of drivers — and many truckers say it's pay the companies are short of. One of the fast-growing parts of the trucking industry these days is driver training. Schools, like APEX CDL Institute in Kansas City, Kan., are cranking out drivers. "I retired from the Army in 2013," says trainee Wayne Berry. "I've worked four jobs since then, and nothing's really captured my interest as much as this has." On his second day training behind the wheel of a big rig, Berry says an Army buddy told him about trucking. "And then I got in touch with them, and they were like, 'Yeah, we'll take you.' So I have a pre-hire letter from this company," Berry says. He says the company committed to hire him before he knew how to drive a truck. "Anybody will hire him,"Trucking Shortage: Drivers Aren't Always In It For The Long Haulhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/trucking-shortage-drivers-arent-always-it-long-haul
51807 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgMon, 14 Dec 2015 10:12:00 +0000Trucking Shortage: Drivers Aren't Always In It For The Long HaulFrank MorrisLooking for a job? How about working way up in the air, in all kinds of weather, with thousands of volts of electricity? Working on high-voltage lines pays well and doesn't require a degree, but electric utilities are hard-pressed to replace retiring linemen. If you want to learn about the dedication and character needed to be a lineman, look no farther than a place with a super-abundance of line workers: the International Lineman's Rodeo. Each year, the best linemen from across the country test their skills in a field in Kansas. Picture a forest of closely spaced utility poles — almost like a giant hairbrush — with hundreds of burly men, in hard hats and heavy boots with spikes, working furiously. Throw in lots of tools and American flags, and you begin to imagine an annual competition some call a "testosterone vortex." "The International Lineman's Rodeo is the Super Bowl of rodeo for linemen," says Martin Putnam, an organizer and former champion lineman. Sporting a sharp flattop, heHelp Wanted: Must Like Heights And High Voltage http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/help-wanted-must-heights-and-high-voltage
50228 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgWed, 11 Nov 2015 10:07:00 +0000Help Wanted: Must Like Heights And High Voltage Frank MorrisCopyright 2015 KCUR-FM. To see more, visit . Transcript KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: The man who presided over the University of Missouri system has stepped down. Now the chancellor says he will resign by the end of the year. The announcements follow protests over the school's handling of several racially charged incidents. Many students there see today's events as a surprising David-and-Goliath-type victory. Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports. FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: Racial issues are not new to MU. Conner Lewis, a history grad student here, says just this semester, racial slurs were openly hurled at the student body president who's black and others. There's also been hateful racist graffiti. AARON Z. LEWIS: I think that racial questions at the campus have been particularly simmering for the past year since what occurred in Ferguson. This has been something that has been boiling under the surface for that long. MORRIS: It was the administration's response to those tensions viewed byUniversity Of Missouri President Resigns After Protestshttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/university-missouri-president-resigns-after-protests
50157 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgMon, 09 Nov 2015 21:35:00 +0000University Of Missouri President Resigns After ProtestsFrank MorrisAmericans have been intentionally ramming cars into each other for sport for decades. And at this time of year, fans crowd into county fairs to see battered, souped-up cars bash each other to pieces. This steel equivalent of blood sport draws a passionate following, and the drivers say it is deeply addicting. "There's nothing better," says John Green, a demolition derby driver at a recent fair in Franklin County, Kan. "A lot of people say they would do it, but until you get in there and do it you never know the real feeling." Exhilarating as it all is, only a handful of cars face Green in the arena — about one tenth as many as decades ago. Demolition derby has changed — and some fear it may be running out of gas. "Another year, then it's over — at least for around here. There's not enough people to keep it going," he says. The problem is widespread. In Rock Springs, Wyo., George Pryich, had been running demolition derby for 36 years. This summer, he had to call it quits. "The lastThe Demise Of Old-Style Demolition Derbyhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/demise-old-style-demolition-derby
44894 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgTue, 28 Jul 2015 09:13:00 +0000The Demise Of Old-Style Demolition DerbyFrank MorrisEach year, convicted felons get thousands of weapons from licensed gun dealers. They skirt the mandatory background checks by having people who do qualify fill out the paperwork for them. Now, the settlement of a lawsuit over a tragic murder-suicide in Kansas has made it easier to sue gun dealers who allow these "straw purchases" with a wink and a nod. Twelve years ago, Elizabeth Shirley was living in rural southeastern Kansas, estranged from her abusive husband Russell Graham. One Friday afternoon she took her 8-year-old son Zeus for a court-ordered visit with his dad. She didn't know that Graham, a convicted felon, had just bought a shotgun, with help from his grandmother. "The owner of the store asked Russell if he had been a good boy, and Russell said 'No, that's why we're gonna put it in her name.' And they continued on with the sale," Shirley says. The owners of Baxter Gun and Pawn say they didn't know Graham was a felon, and that they were convinced the grandmother was buyingKansas Lawsuit Settlement Sets Standard For Gun Seller Liabilityhttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/kansas-lawsuit-settlement-sets-standard-gun-seller-liability
43961 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgThu, 09 Jul 2015 09:04:00 +0000Kansas Lawsuit Settlement Sets Standard For Gun Seller LiabilityFrank MorrisThe greeting card industry is struggling to stay relevant in the digital age. Hallmark has announced that it's closing its distribution center in Enfield, Conn., and cutting 570 jobs there, as it consolidates operations elsewhere. For decades, the greeting card maker held a reputation as the type of company where good employees had a job for life. Julie Elliott, Hallmark's PR director, says layoffs, like the ones announced this week, are especially painful. "This decision does not reflect in any way on the Hallmarkers who worked here in Enfield, or the community at all. It's just simply a decision that we had to make," she says. "It doesn't really surprise me," says Maria Brenny, a former Hallmark designer and marketer. She says big layoffs are another symptom of epic transformation underway in the greeting card business. "I would say that the personal expressions industry is facing something, kind of like climate change shift, where things aren't going to go back to the golden ageTo Survive, The Greeting Card Industry Will Have To Get Creativehttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/survive-greeting-card-industry-will-have-get-creative
43952 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgWed, 08 Jul 2015 22:34:00 +0000To Survive, The Greeting Card Industry Will Have To Get CreativeFrank MorrisThe Charleston, S.C., shootings have sparked lots of discussion about the Confederate battle flag, but it's not the only symbol of the Confederacy. Hundreds of Confederate memorials, plazas and markers dot the South — and beyond — and are attracting attention from fresh eyes. Even as far north as Missouri, two memorials have become flash points. One in Kansas City is 35 to 40 feet tall, topped with a Confederate soldier, with an inscription reading: "In memory of our Confederate dead." It's in a cemetery in a mostly African-American part of town, across the street from a YMCA named for Kansas City's first black mayor, long-time pastor and current U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. "I, uh ... I'm, I was stunned because I have never seen it — and I've done burials there," Cleaver says. Even 150 years since the end of the Civil War, new Confederate memorials have continued to spring up. Darrell Maples, commander for the Missouri division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, helped dedicate oneBeyond The Battle Flag: Controversy Over Confederate Symbols Unfurlshttp://peoriapublicradio.org/post/flags-drop-scrutiny-turns-memorials-confederacy-and-its-dead
43251 as http://peoriapublicradio.orgThu, 25 Jun 2015 09:09:00 +0000Beyond The Battle Flag: Controversy Over Confederate Symbols Unfurls